JPMorgan executives obstructed an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and joked about the convicted sex trafficker’s interest in young girls, the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands alleges in a lawsuit against the bank, The Daily Beast reports.
The complaint says JPMorgan knew more about the disgraced financier than it has previously acknowledged, and that its actions caused “serious harm” to women and girls in the Virgin Islands.
The Caribbean territory’s attorney general on Monday amended its lawsuit against the bank to include one count of obstruction of enforcement of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
The complaint alleges that executive Mary Erdoes, who last month was deposed in the lawsuit, was aware of Epstein's behavior.
Jes Staley, an Epstein friend, and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon were also scheduled to be deposed.
The amended complaint states that the bank's employees and senior executives knew Epstein was under investigation or was sued in connection with sex trafficking or sexual abuse, citing internal emails.
Epstein’s relationship with the bank extended from 1998 to 2013 and included the period in which he pleaded guilty to solicitation of an underaged girl.
The complaint alleges that “Epstein’s behavior was so widely known at JPMorgan that senior executives joked about Epstein’s interest in young girls.”
Additionally, the complaint said, “JP Morgan had information that it knew was directly relevant to the federal investigation of Epstein’s suspected trafficking.”
The territory’s attorney general filed the lawsuit against JP Morgan late last year after two Epstein victims sued Deutsche Bank.
The lawsuits alleged that the banks profited from Epstein’s actions.
The bank had denied wrongdoing.
A federal judge denied the bank’s request to dismiss the cases.
